Idol Wing CID personnel produced the 74 stolen idols seized from Puducherry before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district on Friday. Sixty among them were metal idols and the remaining were stone idols of various deities that were seized from the residence of Jean Paul Rajarathinam at Romain Rolland Street in Puducherry by the Idol Wing CID personnel on Thursday.
The stolen idols were brought to Kumbakonam on Wednesday night and kept at the modern police control room. The idols were produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Thursday where the height, width and weight of every idol were checked by the court staff. Subsequently, 60 metal idols were taken to the Icon Centre at Sri Nageswaran Temple in Kumbakonam to keep them in safe custody, while the 14 stone idols would be in court custody, Idol Wing CID sources said.
Superintendent of Police, Idol Wing CID, R. Sakthivel, earlier told reporters at Kumbakonam on Friday that all the idols were antique icons which were worshipped in various temples in the State. Special teams would be constituted by the Idol Wing CID to carry out further investigation into the case.
Based on credible information that antique idols belonging to various temples in the State were illegally kept in the house of Jean Paul Rajarathinam, the Idol Wing CID obtained a search warrant from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kumbakonam and conducted a search for three to four hours in the presence of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department officials and other witnesses during which the 74 stolen idols were seized.
The seized idols would be matched with photographs of ancient icons in the possession of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and some other institutes as this would enable the investigating agency to establish from which temples the idols were lifted. Steps would thereafter be taken to hand over the idols to the respective temples, Mr. Sakthivel said.
